The development of electronics and computer technology has revolutionized virtually all aspects of our lives. Appropriately deemed the information age, this technology allows anyone anywhere who has access to a computer to communicate with and tap the knowledge of individuals and organizations throughout the world. These circumstances have led directly to the development of personal digital assistants or PDA's, cellular phones, and other such devices to store and protect our virtual property and keep it secure from others. While these devices do a good job with electronic data, they do nothing to help protect our physical property such as credit cards, cash, car keys and similar items. In fact, physical items such as these are more prone to theft and often cause greater hardship for the owner if they are stolen.
The use of biometrics involves sophisticated technological devices to recognize unique physical traits of a human being, typically fingerprints, voice wave patterns, signatures, eye retinas and three-dimensional face patterns. Today's biometric assays match a stored, pre-authorized user's unique physical traits with information gleaned at an access point via a biometric analyzer, which measures and then analyzes said data. If the access point information matches that of a user in an authorized dataset, the user is then authenticated, and access is permitted. If not, access is not permitted and an alarm is usually transmitted either audibly, to security personnel or both. These access points are usually information-sensitive areas such as bank vaults, government facilities and heavy technology plants where safety is of a concern to those not trained in the area.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which safe and secure storage for both physical and virtual belongings can be provided without the disadvantages described above.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related. U.S. Pat. No. 6,111,977 issued in the name of Scott et al. provides for a portable fingerprint recognition transmitter. It differs form the present invention in that it is not an integral device for concurrent use with a personal storage apparatus such as an attaché case, purse or similar item.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,270 issued in the name of Person describes a wallet security system with a selectively openable casing having a pressure-sensitive sensor means. The Person device does not include a biometric-based control access system for permitting pre-authorized access to the interior contents of a personal storage device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,094 issued in the name of Kopel discloses a wallet incorporating a credit card alarm system incorporating flexible sheet materials with means for monitoring the absence of a credit card from within a wallet and emitting an audible alarm. This device does not include a biometric assay for permitting access for the interior of a wallet or similar article as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,027 issued in the name of Chern similarly describes a wallet having an alarm system for detecting a missing or partially inserted card or similar object.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,373 issued in the name of Wajda discloses a wallet security device that detects when a wallet has been removed front within a user's pocket or purse. Again, the Wajda patent does not fall under the full scope of the present invention in that it does not involve a biometric-based security system to permit a user access to contents within a personal storage device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,029 issued in the name of Okamura refers an electronic tag device attachable to products such as personal items, clothing, or accessories. Although designed to be attachable to an article for security purposes, the Okamura device does not purport to provide limited access via a novel biometric authorization system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,260 issued in the name of Tseng discloses a burglarproof structure equipped with a sound emitter and strap for installation on a purse. The Tseng device also does not fall under the scope of the present invention.
Consequently, there is a need for a means by which one can provide limited access to contents within a personal portable storage device, such as wallets, purses, backpacks, attaché cases, briefcases or other similar articles where important and/or personal documents and possessions, with a biometric-based access control system, such as fingerprint matching, voice recognition or retina scan, to authenticate a user's access rights.